Buell Motorcycle

About

While in Architecture school I worked at The Kubala Washatko Architects (TKWA). One project was to analyze the demographic studies from Shook Kelley and design the first stand alone Buell Motorcycle dealership.

Me

Buell’s corporate owner, Harley-Davidson Motor Company (HD), commissioned Shook Kelley to complete a demographic analysis of the Buell rider. TKWA received the analysis from HD because TKWA also designed dealerships for HD, and HD was investigating if Buell should have it’s own dealership space and stop sharing the same floor space as HD motorcycles in HD dealerships.

Shook Kelley determined that the typical Buell rider imagined themselves as a Mad Max archetype, an outsider who doesn’t fit in with the norm or play by the rules. This personality type liked to tinker with their motorbike, upgrade it, make it faster, hang with friends, and talk about racing motorbikes while playing video games.

I designed the space with this in mind. I created lounge areas where friends could hang out while watching a movie or play video games. Banners hanging from the ceiling invoked the race pedigree of Buell. Bikes were put up on pedestals like works of art.

I had the additional advantage of knowing the owner of Buell Motorcycle, Erik Buell because I had designed a home for him while working for a custom home builder in East Troy, WI. I recalled how Erik had the guts of motorcycles strewn across his garage and basement, always tinkering and working to make them better.

The renderings were done by creating the floor plans in Vectorworks, then creating a 3D model in SketchUp. The 3D model was imported into Artlantis and composed into a watercolor with Piranesi.